Circus Freak
by robotmonkeys
Summary: After being adopted from an orphanage in Britain, Axel finds himself being the star of his parents' circus. But the young teen boy doesn't want to be a 'Circus Freak' and desperately tries to break away. In the act of his disbandment, he takes a rough path towards sex, drugs, and money.
1. Prologue

Full Summary: After being adopted from an orphanage in Britain, Axel finds himself being the star of his parents' circus. But the young teen boy doesn't want to be a 'Circus Freak' and desperately tries to break away. In the act of his disbandment, he takes a rough path towards sex, drugs, and money.

Rated M for drugs and adult themes

Circus Freak

Prologue

* * *

"Do it again Axel! Show Rodney and them your flip again!"

Axel stretched his arms above his head and bent over in a cartwheel. The children gasped in awe.

"How do you do it? I can barely tie my shoes!"

Axel shrugged. "I like it. It's fun! I don't know how I do it though. I think I just…tumble over and land on my feet."

More children started to crowd around the gymnast. Axel surveyed the audience in amazement. Could just a few flips really bring on this kind of crowd? His best friend bragged more about him as the kids crowded around.

"Yeah, and you should see how he does this really cool flip on the bed! I've been practicing it for days but I still can't get it right!"

"Do it on the bed Axel!"

The boy turned around to face the perfectly made bed. It was Ruth's bed; a timid young girl who spent most of her time in the gardens catching bugs. Hopefully she wouldn't mind the wrinkles in her sheets. Axel clambered up on the bed and stood for all to see.

"I'm not very good at this trick; I only did it five times. Each time, I landed somewhere different than before. Once, I even fell off the bed."

"Just do it already!" A little girl whined in impatience.

Axel nodded. "Very well then…"

He jumped lightly on the bed at first until he positioned himself at the foot. Then his jumps grew bigger and he stayed longer in the air. With one last thrust off the bed, Axel tilted his head back and allowed his body to curl backwards along with it. When his feet hit the bed again, he was back in the middle of it and still slightly jumping. The children cheered for him. They didn't know that such height was possible.

"My best friend in the whole wide world is a flying jumper!"

Axel shrugged. "I don't feel like I'm flying. I just feel like I'm going to fall."

Murmurs fell in the crowd about who wanted to switch beds with Roxas in order to sleep in Axel's room and who would play with him that afternoon's recess. Roxas's smile dipped at the conversations. He didn't want to share him.

The bell rang from the kitchen which signaled it was time for all of the boys and girls to get their lunches. All of the children rushed from the room in a hazardous swarm down the stairs and into the kitchen; pushing and shoving to get the first meal. Axel and Roxas were behind the bunch waiting patiently. There was the big long table that stretched to make room for forty children; twenty on one side, another twenty on the other. Plates were set neatly on each placemat and napkins were set to the side.

"Sit next to me, alright?" Roxas needed reassuring from his friend.

Axel smiled. "I don't have any other seat."

A girl interjected. "Axel, sit next to us and show me how to do that cool thing after lunch!"

"Sit next to me, Axel! I already saved you a spot!" A boy yelled.

Ms. Token came from the kitchen to soothe the noise of the rowdy children.

"Axel may sit where he would like. Remember the rules: inside voices; and: everyone has to make their own decisions."

"Yes Ma'am," the children sang in chorus.

Ms. Token went back into the kitchen after she patted Axel on the head. The children ate quietly then; too engrossed in their meal to care about where the brunette boy sat then. The two friends sat in their seats and stared at the mushy food: mashed potatoes, mashed yams, peas, and a piece of leftover ham from Christmas.

They picked at their food cautiously. The last time they ate lunch, they grew terribly sick. Ms. Token came out from the kitchen again and placed cups of juice on everyone's placemat.

"Now, now," she tutted, "We know we do not pick at our food. Remember the rules: eat all of your food to make you healthy and strong."

"Yes Ma'am," the boys said in unison.

Ms. Token patted then both on the head and gave them their juice.

At recess, the children were once again crowded around Axel. He wore his red blanket around his neck like a cape, a red wig from the costume box, a fancy plum colored hat (stolen) from Ms. Token's closet, and he carried a fairy wand from one of the Magical Tooth Fairy dolls. He stood behind Roxas patiently.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my best friend is magical! He can do all kinds of things we can't do—like—fly! He magically lifts himself in the air and spins while he does it! He's a magical bird I tell you!"

From behind the glass sliding doors, Ms. Token was directing her own little show. Grown men and women, couples of every kind, were crowded around Ms. Token listening to her special presentation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming to Bellingham Orphanage! This section of the Orphanage is dedicated to three to five year olds because they need more attention than some of the older kids. The children are outside at recess for now but they will be coming in about five minutes. Please, watch them carefully so you can learn their playful habits and to decide which child best suits your home. Thank you."

The adults spread out along the glass doors pointing and awing at little children with puffy cheeks and blue-eyed beauties but their main focus was on the crowd around a droll styled boy and a blonde.

A raven haired woman gently clutched her husband's arm. "Are they going to fight?"

"With the other dressed like that, I think the blonde boy has a likely chance of winning."

She chuckled. "I like his style… he's adorable."

The children cheered when Axel landed the flip. He bowed and waved as they chanted his name.

"And now," Roxas started, "He's going to stand on his head! I really mean it! He can keep his legs in the air and not fall! I've seen it myself!"

"You're a liar," said a little girl, "If he stood on his head, his head would explode."

"I've seen it myself! He can do it! Show them Axel!"

Axel stretched his arms above his head and bent over like he was going to do a cartwheel but this time, he stopped mid-way. He stood on his head! His legs were trembling quite a bit from trying to balance but he stayed upside down nevertheless. The other children murmured in awe of the upside down little boy.

Inside, the couple held each other closely. "He'll make such a great accessory… I think we found our son."

The husband smiled. "Let's go inform Ms. Token and sign the papers."

* * *

RAWR

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RobotMonkeys


	2. Chapter 1

Full Summary: After being adopted from an orphanage in Britain, Axel finds himself being the star of his parents' circus. But the young teen boy doesn't want to be a 'Circus Freak' and desperately tries to break away. In the act of his disbandment, he takes a rough path towards sex, drugs, and money.

Rated M

Circus Freak

Chapter One

* * *

Axel waited in his dressing room. He sat in the folding chair staring into the bulb-rimmed mirror. The pale face stared back at him. It wore excess makeup and bold eye shadow with little marks of black on its cheekbones. Its lips were pale and chapped and cracked with pink as a sign of flesh still being evident. Axel looked jaded but mostly, he looked stage ready.

He was already dressed: a skin tight spandex one piece costume with black and white swirls like a cliché hypnotic method. He slipped on a black cap over his head which also had the mesmerizing swirls on it. The other acrobats were getting ready by finishing up their makeup and tugging on their caps. Axel got down on the floor to stretch his muscles and limbs; twisting his body like he was wringing out a towel until he felt his bones become nothing but rubber. The other performers sat beside him as they touched their toes with their faces meeting their knees.

They were finished stretching and makeup and costumes. There was nothing left to do but wait until the current act was over. The makeup artist came back every now and again to fill in the pink cracks then they would leave the teen alone to prepare his nerves some more. But he just stared at the pale face and that pale face reflected no one.

In the ring, the crowd cheered for the impressive act. It was magic, something that only the crowd can believe, and it was by the very best ringmaster there was. Grand Helios has done everything in his performing career. From taming lions to sawing a woman's body in half, he's basically covered everything on the list. But there's one thing he couldn't do.

"And now," he announced, "Performing Hypnosis, Circus Freaks!"

The audience cheered for their most favorite act of the night. Most people wouldn't be there if it wasn't for the Circus Freaks. They were unreal and absolutely astounding to watch. Especially the way the artificial smoke covered the ground and the lights dimmed dramatically. The watchers were silent. They didn't know what could possibly happen next. It was always a show with the Freaks.

There lies a man. He wasn't moving in the middle of the ring as the smoke panned out over his body and the swirls in his costume became clear. Then he rose. He stood there awkwardly and the crowd obviously shifted uncomfortably in their seats. The man opened his eyes but he had no color in them. He spun à la seconde turns and then transitioned into fouettes then spun faster and faster until he dropped back into the position he was in at the beginning of the show.

Unsure claps came from the audience but stopped as the man got up again. This time, twenty more people were with him and they did the same routines. They stopped then scattered all about the floor when the dramatic music cued them; some were climbing ladders and some rushed to the Russian swing. Three performers climbed up thick poles with nothing but their hands and feet. It was magic, something that only the crowd can believe.

The trapeze swings were pushed out into the lit view of the audience but no one swung on them. They went back into the hidden darkness as if they forgot to retrieve their owners. Everything was still until the acrobats started to swing and so did the Russian swing. The Chinese poles seemed as if white paint spilled down the lengths of it because of the performers' eerie ability to create such an allusion with their costumes.

Very well into the performance, the audience cheered often and louder with every trick and leap; they were obviously obliviously enraptured by the human body. The performers on the Chinese poles leaped off to be caught by trapeze performers and a stuntman on the Russian swing was caught by another trapeze performer in midair after his body twisted and bent with tricks. The spotlight turned off and the Circus Freaks returned to the solid ground. Smoke was covering it once again and so was the spinning man.

The crowd was wild with amusement and amazement and saved their loudest cheer for that one last act. They stood on their feet and made sure their applause lasted the whole round. The ringmaster came out once again.

"Thank you all for lending Circus Urania your minds. Please, use them joyously. Have a safe night!"

The performers were backstage retiring for the night.

"Nice shape out there Axel, you did very well today!" Nikko patted her colleague on the back and handed him a makeup removal wipe.

"Thanks," Axel replied automatically, "You too."

He took off the cap and ruffled his hair back to the spikes they were in. He went behind a screen and peeled off the skin tight costume and changed into his underwear. His nude body was lean and taut because of the blood-for-sweat training he went to every week, every show, and every year. Out of all of the acrobatic performers, he was the youngest one but yet he was also the longest active performer in Circus Urania. To him, everyone else was juniors.

Urania shut down for the night. Axel was in the empty parking lot known to only the few cars left. A man and woman approached the car.

"Great performance Axel; you looked simply divine! I loved the makeup and the costume. It suited you well!"

"Thanks Mum…"

"I'm proud of you son! You're only 17 and you're doing two shows in one day. You must be exhausted!"

"Not as exhausted as you and Mum. You're the one who cut her in half."

"C'mon, get in the car. We have to fill our bellies after ever performance. If we don't, we'll soon to perish!"

Axel got in the car lazily and threw his duffel bag over his shoulder into the trunk. His parents drove a simple Expedition SUV and removed the extra seating in the back so props and bags could fill in the space.

"I'm really proud of you son. It takes heart and guts to do what you do."

"Thanks Pop."

"We'll celebrate with whatever food you would like." His mother said. It was easy to hint that she wore a smile.

Axel didn't respond. He had his headphones lodged deep within his ears. His eyes fluttered with every passing beat of the song. His tight muscles slowly relaxed as he stayed still and focused on nothing more but that pale blank face in the mirror. It seemed so hollow and so ghostly that it made him relax fully.

"Axel, sweetheart, we're passing by all of the restaurants. Have you made a decision?"

"I'll eat what's at home."

"We don't have much. Nothing but burgers from last night is what we have left."

"I'll take it."

"Alright," she sighed.

They reached their home 30 minutes later: a big wine red bricked home with potted plants and artificial grass. Axel rolled his eyes at the lawn. Everything was a fake.

"We'll carry in your bags. You just go upstairs and rest."

The teen nodded to his father and went inside the home. His feet were heavy and his vision was blurred. It was like a mass effect on him. The only hypnosis he did was to him. Axel reached his room. The door was painted red with black vertical stripes. As soon as he opened the door, he was met with the bold red and black patterned words Circus Freak on the opposite wall of his bed. He got ready for bed; the clothes on his body peeled off like butter and his muscles relaxed into the memory foam mattress. His face was buried in a pillow for a while for a short rest but something haunted him.

The words on the opposite wall cling to air with much meaning. A pillow was thrown at them but they didn't disappear. They stared him right in his face as if they were hoping for the same emotional reaction they always gotten but he just stared at the two words and those two words reflected no one.

* * *

RAWR

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RobotMonkeys


	3. Chapter 2

Circus Freak

Chapter Two

* * *

Soft murmurs came from the kitchen along with the clinks of spoons against coffee mugs. Axel was still soundly asleep in his crème and red sheets. His leg was wrapped around the covers as usual and he laid flat on his stomach. His toes twitched; used to the over-practiced routine.

"I think he did mighty fine last night. He deserves a rest from all of his hard work. It's his second time doing two shows in one night and he executed them beautifully."

"I'm not disagreeing that he performed beautifully, I'm disagreeing that he needs rest. By this time, his body should be used to the training and exercise. By tomorrow, he should be ready for practice. It's the same routine, nothing's changed, and it's the same shows and costumes. He'll be fine."

"The human body doesn't get used to everything. It needs its rest and right now, Axel's body isn't getting enough of it."

The man's wife sat next to him and squeezed his wrist with a plea on her face. The man sipped his coffee.

"He'll be fine."

"I'll be fine doing what?"

Axel trotted down the stairs in his practice shorts and without a shirt. He slapped on heating compresses to his legs and oblique muscles. His eyes looked as if they were stained with glow-in-the-dark paint and he had red prints on his cheek where he slept on his hand. The mother shot a glance at her husband but the man ignored it.

"I think you'll be fine going to practice tomorrow. Nothing's going to change."

Axel paused before opening the fridge.

"I know I work in a circus but I'm not some kind of dog. You can't just tell me to flip over and do tricks whenever you want to."

The father snorted. "You agreed to the terms and conditions. You were responsible."

"Yeah, but I'm still your kid."

"You act as if you're the only one who we make train. Your act is the hardest of all. You constantly need work and touch-ups."

"I want to hang out with my friends today."

"Sorry, Axel, you need to go to the gym and train."

Frowning at the disappointing meal choices and unwanted news, the son slammed the refrigerator door.

"That's all I've been doing ever since I came to bloody America! You look at me like I'm some kind of eager puppy who will do anything for a Scooby Snack! I'm a teenager with a life and friends! You've forgotten why you brought me here!"

"We brought you here for the opportunity of a lifetime—"

"No! You brought me here because you couldn't have children."

The mother gasped with her hand over her mouth. She fiddled with her coffee mug and bit her lip. The father wore a frown of disgust and anger. He never thought that he would hear that from his child's mouth; ever. He pointed towards the door.

"Get out."

* * *

The plates clattered against one another as the waiter stacked them on his tray. He piled up the silverware next to the dirty dishes then went in the kitchen. He rolled up his sleeves and started to dump the plates in the sink.

"Hey there, sonny, nice works on the job today. You had a good shift?"

"Yeah, except it was hard remembering the tables and their order. I could've done a better job."

"Don't sweat yourself kid, you were fine for your first day."

The two males started scrubbing on the dirty plates. The tallest agreed to dry while the younger washed.

"Do you think I can go on that trip this spring? I only have Spring Break for a week."

"We just opened the restaurant. Who's going to go with you?"

"I'll be fine, really, airplanes don't upset me."

"Ah," the father groaned. "I really don't know. Your mother is going to hear it first. She might not want to deal with the hassle of everything."

"Ma doesn't have to know…"

"But she'll know you're gone once you're there right? She won't just walk around the house not suspecting a thing. If I do something to you that your mother doesn't like, she'll get hotter than the surface of the sun."

"But she doesn't need to come with me is what I'm saying. I can travel alone…"

The father shot a glance at his son.

"Really…"

He shook his head and stacked the dry plate on the racks.

"Don't get excited but still don't be upset. Chances are: you're not going. That's for sure."

"You said that it was a chance. You can't seal a chance with a definite answer immediately after you said it was a chance—"

"Calm down—"

"I need an answer! If I don't go now than how else will I go? The summer is too far away! I don't know about my chances during the summer!"

"Why do you want to go so much? What is it with you and this obsession?"

The boy looked down at the soapy water then gently scrubbed the next dish. He smiled faintly.

"Papa,"

"Hm?" The man grunted.

"Please persuade Ma to let me go. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

The father smiled through his sigh. "They say not to spoil your children."

"You're not; you're just making them happy."

The father thought about the choices for a moment then he slapped his hands together at his idea.

"Tell you what: you finish these dishes while I count up the reports from tonight. Then we'll go home and kiss up to your mother, okay?"

"I can handle that."

"Good, now, let me get started."

The man left his son to finish the chores. After two last dishes, the boy was done so he sat in the front of the restaurant with his coat in his hand. He stared out of the window at the red lights creating fast blurred lasers past the restaurant. He sighed and put his head down on the table. The father came out of the backroom with his coat on and his keys dangling from his fingers.

"Come on sonny, andiamo!"

The two walked out into the empty lot towards their lonely car.

"Ah, pick up that piece of paper for me sonny. Rotten kids these days never hear of a trash can…"

The son did as was told and picked up the colorful news article. In big bold print, a particular headline caught his eye. He sighed at the stoic face in the picture and softly curved his lips.

"Ancora lo stesso ..."

He balled up the paper and threw in the outside bin and got in the car. His father turned to him.

"Did you see something shocking in the news?"

"No, complete opposite actually, nothing's changed."

"I thought you saw a ghost."

The father chuckled as he strapped his seatbelt across his chest. The boy turned out the window to watch more red lights blur past.

The boy thought about his father's comment. _'You can say that he's a ghost… a ghost in flesh…'_

* * *

RAWR

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RobotMonkeys


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